Bidders coming from across the province and across the country for the J.C. (Jack) Anderson Charity Auto Auction last Sunday at Olds College and community celebration was a successful event from start to finish.
“We want to thank this generous donation from rancher, entrepreneur and friend of Olds College, J.C. (Jack) Anderson. This auction has helped Olds College raise its local, national and international profile and grow the Olds College brand in ways that no amount of marketing could,” said Olds College President Tom Thompson.
On a weekend that included so many events, from Olds College Centennial Community Celebration to Summer Oldstice and UpTowne Olds, the Town of Olds was alive with activity as thousands came out to take in the events.
The capstone of the weekend for Olds College was the J.C. (Jack) Anderson Charity Auto Auction that took place on June 23. The auction was open for viewing Friday and events including a Show and Shine and Cruise event followed by Night of Cars dinner and dance that culminated with first class fireworks show set to music Saturday night. All of these activities helped to build excitement for the auction itself on Sunday.
With close to 1,500 people visiting on Saturday and over 2,000 on Sunday coming for the auction, Olds College was able to raise over $1.2 million for the Centennial Entrepreneurship Legacy Fund. The highlight of the Car Auction was the rare 1956 Corvette roadster that sold for $66,000.
“This weekend was an incredible experience for everyone involved and we couldn’t be more proud of what we were able to accomplish,” says Olds College Vice President of Advancement, Jordan Cleland. “We not only met, but exceeded our goals and expectations and I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone – both staff and volunteers – that helped to pull this together.”
To host this event, more than 300 volunteers came together to help clean and prepare the cars for the auction and we had just over 125 volunteers to help on auction day. Saturday’s events saw close to 100 cars in the Show and Shine and Car Cruise and over 250 people attend the Night of Cars Dinner and Dance at the Arena.
The supporting events and sponsorships helped generate over an additional half a million dollars.
The culmination of this auction secures the legacy Anderson leaves with Olds College for our Centennial Entrepreneurial Legacy Fund. From his $1 million donation in 2007, followed by the success of the auction, the College is positioned to ensure we can meet the goals set forth to ensure we remain the premier Canadian integrated learning and applied research community specializing in agriculture, horticulture, land and environmental management.
In early 2012, news of J.C. (Jack) Anderson’s donation generated national and local headlines stretching as far as Toronto and New York City and has been mentioned on countless auto and financial web sites extending as far as Germany. The success of this auction is reaching those levels again. With Olds College hosting the auction that represented, ‘100 cars and trucks in our 100th year’, we continue to punch above our weight class. The extent and uniqueness of this donation has enabled a small, rural institution known for agriculture and rural development, to be recognized word wide.
– Fawcett
